Soft bank
- Thread starter turbo2ltr
- Start date
I probably should have taken pictures as I was making it...
The main ingredient is "The Insulator" Thermal-acoustic insulation manufactured by Bonded Logic, which I see is located in nearby Chandler, AZ. http://www.bondedlogic.com/insulator.htm It's got foil on both sides and a core of something like recycled fabric. It's made for cars and I got it at an automotive store. $30 for a 4'x6' piece. It's farily ridged too.
I made some templates out of cardboard first to get the general shape I would need. I tried cutting the insulation with a utility knife and it instantly dulled it. You need to use tin snips, and good ones at that because it also has to cut the fabric stuff. This stuff is also kinda nasty. I think there might be strands of fiberglass mixed in with the fabric core.
After I cut out the four sides, I assembled them together with shiny aluminum tape...the kind of stuff they use to seal HVAC ducts...available at Home Depot..
My first attempt at making a support frame using 1/8" steel round failed. I ended up using 3/4" flat aluminum (1/8" thick). I made a square frame for the "wide" edge. I shaped a single 4' piece of the same aluminum to contour with the shape of the box and used it as a support for the lights. I welded the backstrap to the outer frame, but it could have been just as easily bolted in the absense of a TIG welder..
I bought 4 sockets from Home depot, for under $4 each. They were plain bake-a-lite sockets, with pigtails, that had a single small right angle bracket on them. I also bought a 15' extension cord (rated at over 1000 watts) for $2 and change and lopped off the end. I mounted the sockets on a 3/4"x 3/4" aluminum box tubing, and welded that to the backstrap.
I wired everything up but was unhappy with the fact that the back of the sockets were exposed. So I welded up a cover for them out of two pieces of 2" aluminum angle. I made a U shaped cover that I screwed onto the back of the unit.
That was about it. I hang tracing paper and blue gels on the front for color and diffusion. I had it running for several hours yesterday (four 100 watt bulbs) and it was hot, but it handled it very well. I could put my hand on the top of it without a problem.
I think it works well...though I'm quite the novice when it comes to lighting. My only issue... I wouldn't mind if it had some more wattage.
The main ingredient is "The Insulator" Thermal-acoustic insulation manufactured by Bonded Logic, which I see is located in nearby Chandler, AZ. http://www.bondedlogic.com/insulator.htm It's got foil on both sides and a core of something like recycled fabric. It's made for cars and I got it at an automotive store. $30 for a 4'x6' piece. It's farily ridged too.
I made some templates out of cardboard first to get the general shape I would need. I tried cutting the insulation with a utility knife and it instantly dulled it. You need to use tin snips, and good ones at that because it also has to cut the fabric stuff. This stuff is also kinda nasty. I think there might be strands of fiberglass mixed in with the fabric core.
After I cut out the four sides, I assembled them together with shiny aluminum tape...the kind of stuff they use to seal HVAC ducts...available at Home Depot..
My first attempt at making a support frame using 1/8" steel round failed. I ended up using 3/4" flat aluminum (1/8" thick). I made a square frame for the "wide" edge. I shaped a single 4' piece of the same aluminum to contour with the shape of the box and used it as a support for the lights. I welded the backstrap to the outer frame, but it could have been just as easily bolted in the absense of a TIG welder..
I bought 4 sockets from Home depot, for under $4 each. They were plain bake-a-lite sockets, with pigtails, that had a single small right angle bracket on them. I also bought a 15' extension cord (rated at over 1000 watts) for $2 and change and lopped off the end. I mounted the sockets on a 3/4"x 3/4" aluminum box tubing, and welded that to the backstrap.
I wired everything up but was unhappy with the fact that the back of the sockets were exposed. So I welded up a cover for them out of two pieces of 2" aluminum angle. I made a U shaped cover that I screwed onto the back of the unit.
That was about it. I hang tracing paper and blue gels on the front for color and diffusion. I had it running for several hours yesterday (four 100 watt bulbs) and it was hot, but it handled it very well. I could put my hand on the top of it without a problem.
I think it works well...though I'm quite the novice when it comes to lighting. My only issue... I wouldn't mind if it had some more wattage.
Sirius_Doggy
Veteran
I only see one problem with it and I may be wrong but...... it seems like it would be a bi*ch to transport to a job site? Does it fold up and breakdown easily? Looks great though!
Yeah, you're right, it doesn't break down. It comes off the tripod easily, but thats about it. It's less than 2x2x2 so it's not that bad...but we don't plan to be moving it around much.
Hmm, is that what the "soft" in "soft bank" means? I might have my terminoligy messed up...
Hmm, is that what the "soft" in "soft bank" means? I might have my terminoligy messed up...
faultygoblin
Active member
Very nice,
what kind of color are you getting off the bulbs?
are you mounting the gels with wooden c47s? or going to build a tray?
what kind of color are you getting off the bulbs?
are you mounting the gels with wooden c47s? or going to build a tray?
OregonDank
Well-known member
nice light...looks like the light budget went straight to plasma tvs huh?
rogar-BigGrin(DBG)
rogar-BigGrin(DBG)
faultygoblin said:
You make it sound like I know what I'm doing... heheh. We mount the gels using the big paperclips on top.
I'm using the "natural daylight" bulbs from home depot (they are tinted blue). I'm not sure what gels these are. They were here when I got involved. I'll be picking up some "true blue" (?) gels. The light was very close to sunlight (we were using the light in a naturally lit room). Thats all my limited expertice would be able to say about the color..
solproductions
Member
Nice job!